The Canceled Czech (Evan Tanner #2) - (Evan Tanner Mystery)

Lawrence Block

Center Point Pub

2003

207 páginas

6h 54m

ISBN-10: 1585473731

Evan Tanner is an ex-soldier with a habit of taking up lost causes and picking up beautiful women -- and he hasn't slept a wink since a piece of Korean shrapnel destroyed the sleep center of his brain. The FBI has a file on him, and the CIA is watching his every move. But a super-secret intelligence organization has decided that he's exactly the kind of man they need. The Canceled Czech tells the story of Janos Kotacek, a despicable Nazi criminal who has been imprisoned and will no doubt be hanged for his crimes. But to Tanner's agency, Kotacek is worth more alive than dead. Tanner's orders are simple: go to Prague . . . storm a castle . . . free the prisoner. And that's the easy part!
[...]
Evan Tanner ran head-first into a piece of shrapnel in Korea, and now he can't sleep. Ever. Which can be an asset for a dedicated linguist, term paper forger, thief, lost cause enthusiast . . . "Spy." Tanner takes on jobs for a covert intelligence organization so secret that even those who work for it have no idea who they're working for. Now his nameless supervisor wants him to sneak behind the Iron Curtain, storm an impregnable castle in Prague ("alone!"), and rescue an old Slovak who's got a pressing date with a hangman's noose. The trouble is the prisoner is an unrepentant Nazi who makes Goering look like Mister Rogers. Tanner hates Nazis. If he's caught (which is likely) the U.S. will deny that they know him. And Tanner will be executed. After being tortured, no doubt. All in all, there are many excellent reasons why Tanner should refuse this assignment. So, naturally, he says yes.